An angry Bafana Mahungela stormed out of the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court, hurling expletives under his breath after the magistrate ruled against his bail application.

The 21-year-old’s legal team had brought an application with an attempt to bring new facts to the matter, currently enrolled before the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg.

On Thursday, the magistrate agreed with the argument brought by the State, suggesting that her court does not have the jurisdiction to consider this latest application.

“This court does not have jurisdiction over this application, and therefore, this matter has been dismissed based on lack of jurisdiction,” the magistrate ruled.

Mahungela’s legal team, led by Advocate Stanley Jacobs, had applied to the court seeking to present new facts before the court, which it argues have not been considered by all the courts that have heard the 21-year-old’s matter.

Mahungela, who is accused of killing his Delta Park High School teacher, Kirsten Kluyts, while jogging, was arrested on November 26, 2023, after video footage was obtained from the closed-circuit television cameras in the vicinity of Parkmore, Sandton.

Mahungela faces charges of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder, and attempted rape, which he has denied.

In July this year, his matter was transferred from the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court to the Johannesburg High Court for a pre-trial conference on August 16, where his trial is expected to start on October 13.

The State is objecting to hearing this application. The basis of the objection is that the applicant has appeared in this court and the High Court over this application on several occasions. This matter has been transferred to the high court; the court of first instance loses its exclusive jurisdiction.

“We are submitting that there is a case law in this regard where, in that matter, another court entertained bail, and it was a third instance. The bail was revoked, and the State argues that this is the case,” the State prosecutor said.

However, Jacobs argued that the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court is the right court to bring the application because it is the court of first instance.

Speaking to the media outside court, Jacobs said the ruling was meant to frustrate their application to bring new facts to the court.

“The court is saying we do not have the right to bring the new facts in front of the law, which is totally wrong. The court had originally heard the bail application. It is compelled to listen to the application for bail and new facts. It is seized with that until the matter has been finalised. That is the law. However, what has happened today is totally wrong.

“The judge in the High Court is also the one who referred us back to this court. Essentially, she is defying the High Court because we cannot bring this application there. That is what the High Court said, but she says she does not have jurisdiction,” said Joacobs.

Earlier this year, his trial was postponed to May 14, 2025, to confirm the defence’s trial readiness, following the late disclosure of key docket materials and forensic results just weeks earlier.

The defence says there is a set of DNA results dated December 22, 2023, evidence that reportedly does not link Mahungela to the crime scene.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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